Kat Eye Studio

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Power of Ordinary People

Lasting changes and improvements are made through the cumulative effects of individual actions. Heroic figures grasp the opportunities of movements and perform in a way that catches the imagination of a civilization and mobilizes a collective response, be even these actions ultimately receive their power from the responses of ordinary people.
— Shaun McNiff in Trust the Process

“Ordinary people.” Hey, that’s us.
“Individual actions.” We do this every day.

Is there power in the individual actions of ordinary people? I believe there is. I believe that each of us, through what we create each day, bring something of value to the world. In countless tiny ways, we create the existence around us. Artistic creation is but one aspect of the lives we create each day.

A while ago I received this quote on my Yogi tea bag, “Our thoughts are forming the world.” I set it aside, I didn’t get it at the time. I mean really, the world is made up of things not thoughts, my logical mind protested. Sometime later I realized that all of these things around us, with the exception of nature, began as thoughts. Someone thought they could create a light bulb. Someone thought they could capture light with chemicals, and later with electronic circuits, to create a camera. Someone thought they would build a building, or a town, or a country. Our world is changed, formed, by thoughts which begin in the minds of individuals.

It’s not just the big invention-type thoughts that matter though, those are only tangible examples to show the concept that things start as thoughts. For everything we do, our actions start as thoughts. Our practice of creativity helps to form those thoughts, helps to link ideas in new ways. Our practice of creativity gives us power: new ideas lead to new actions which change the world within or around us in a million tiny ways.

“Every one of us has something distinct to offer to the all-encompassing process of creativity,” McNiff goes on to say later in the book. Do you see how it is true? McNiff wrote his book, I read it today and re-interpret it here, you read and re-interpret it again. You think about it, form your own opinion. Each connection, each thought, is part of the overall creative process.

A creative process which is available to ordinary people. Sparking change which begins and ends with ordinary people. People like you and me.

Consider your power, as an ordinary person taking individual action, no matter how big or small. How will you use it today?

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Anchored Walls

We are still studying windows in Exploring with a Camera, and this week I realized I neglected to mention one important way I use windows in my photos: As an anchor.

I love the texture of walls, but having an image of a textured wall without any other context is not so interesting. Including a piece of a window, door or some other architectural element helps provide context. The corner of the window in the image below “anchors” the wall in reality, so you know what you are looking at.

I’ve enjoyed seeing the windows shared so far! Have you had a chance to explore windows yet? You have another week to join in!


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Trust and Belief: The Lessons of a Twitter Hacking

A few days ago, I had my Twitter account hacked. I could have kicked myself, because after the fact I realized that I was a willing participant to the hacking. After living in a world of internet spam, with all of the suspicious emails, tweets and blog comments I see all the time, I finally fell for one. Ouch. A blow to the pride for sure, but it taught me a thing or two about myself. About trust and belief.

So, how did this happen? First, I got a direct message from someone I know. I don’t follow a huge number of people on twitter, and while some of them are big names who don’t know me from the next person, many of them are people I’ve interacted with online or in person. This message came from someone I know, have met in person and exchanged emails with. A friend. So the first step in my downfall was receiving the message from someone I trust. It gave it a credibility it otherwise wouldn’t.

The second, and more insidious piece, is how I believed the message. I’ve never fallen for wiring money to Africa, or making thousands of dollars working from home, or the latest pharmaceutical scam. But this message preyed upon my vulnerability, saying, “You seen what this person is saying about you? {Link} terrible things.” I believed it. I clicked the link, “logged in” to twitter and willingly gave up my password. Why? Because I’ve always had this underlying fear that sometime, somewhere, someone was going to say terrible things about me on the Internet. It has to just be a matter of time, when you put yourself out there publicly like this, right? I realize now this wasn’t just a fear they preyed upon, I carried it around so long it became a belief. I have been sure that it would happen. Steeling myself against the day when it would come. So in my head I said, “Yep, it’s finally happened.” And I clicked the link.

I have to admit the smarts of these hackers, preying on our trust and belief like this. I have to admit chagrin, that I’m not as savvy against hackers as I thought. The hackers only took advantage so far. My own belief helped them the rest of the way.

I apologize if you got the same twitter message from me this week, I hope you saw it for what it was and didn’t click the link. I hate to think that I might have lost the trust of others in this way. But I did learn one important lesson out of all of this. I’ve been carrying around a belief that needs to go. No one has said terrible things about me yet. Maybe someone will someday, maybe they won’t. There is no point in believing it will happen. That just makes me vulnerable, to my own insecurities and hackers alike.

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Weekend Away: Powered by Orange

Since orange became my power color while living in Italy, I love the idea of being “Powered by Orange.” Here in Corvallis, home of Oregon State University, much of the town sports these “Powered by Orange” signs in support of the university whose colors are orange and black. A fun discovery upon moving back here!

And I just noticed, another window image! They are popping up everywhere for me these days.

For “Weekend Away,” I take a little blogging break and share random photos captured in my travels.

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A Bike and a Smile

I’ve been getting a lot of smiles on my bike ride to work lately. It’s been odd, people see me coming and they smile at me. It took me a while to figure out what was going on. Why all the smiles? It turns out, they were smiling at me because I was smiling as I rode. 
You see, riding my Italian city bike makes me happy. It’s not as cool-looking as this bike I found in Pavia early on in my time in Italy, with its stylish zebra basket liner, but my bike still makes me happy. With it’s basket, fenders, chain cover, dropped bar and completely uncool kickstand it is a comfortable, functional bike. It is me.
I’ve had a lot of experience with bikes that were not me. You see, a long, long time ago I hated riding a bicycle. I taught myself to ride a bike at 8 years old. I never got that comfortable, like the other kids who had been riding since they were 5 and were jumping off curbs around the neighborhood. As a teen, I went to summer camp where one of the activities was cycling. They put everyone on 10-speeds, assuming we could ride them. I was nervous and scared on the 10-speed, all leaned over on a twitchy bike. I felt like I was going to crash, and eventually I did. So much for biking! 
And then… about a year after getting married, I mentioned I might like to try out mountain biking. The bikes looked more comfortable and it was the latest craze. My husband, an avid cyclist prior to our marriage, turned so fast into the parking lot of the bike shop it was almost illegal. Newly armed with biking gear I started to ride the trails with my husband and other friends from work. It was all guys, and I tried to become the cool biker chick. I tried to like mountain biking, I really did. But after a couple of years I decided that I just didn’t get why people would want to ride on these skinny dirt trails that you can easily ride off of. I didn’t get why people would want to ride on paths with obstacles like roots or rocks in the way intentionally. I made myself ride with the “must-have” clipless pedals for a year, to see if I would eventually like them. I hated them as much the day I took them off as the day I started with them. I forced myself to do all manner of things that didn’t seem to fit for me, in order to “become” a mountain biker. I tried to fit in with the mountain biking crowd, my husband and the guys I worked with. For years, I tried. It never worked.
What I did discover though, is that I liked biking to work. I liked the routine of getting out there, twice a day. Clearing my mind by working my body. Both getting somewhere and getting some exercise. Riding an exercise bike, nowhere? Ugh. Riding a bicycle to get somewhere? Perfect! 
One of the things I loved in Italy and Europe is that bicycling is not only a “sport” but a way to get around. A bicycle is an acceptable form of transportation. You don’t need snazzy gear and spandex to ride a bike. It opened my eyes to these bikes that were both comfortable and functional, with maybe a bit of style too.  I loved the look of the city bikes that were everywhere. I captured them with my camera but I think it was my heart speaking through the lens, reminding me this type of bicycling was for me. 
So, last summer I went out and found a city bike. It’s an amazingly huge and heavy bike, no worries about the lightness of frame here. I sit upright on a comfy seat. The bike has fenders, a chain cover, front and back racks, lights that run on a wheel generator, a kick-stand, wheel lock and a bell. It has the requisite drop bar in the front for riding in a skirt (although I’ve only done it that one time). I added a basket to the front rack, for even more functionality. I think I’m going to add some flowers to the front of the basket, that would make me even happier.
I look strange riding here in the US, among the mountain bikes on the bike path. There are more and more “city bikes” around but they still aren’t that common. My bike is giant and odd-looking. But I’m no longer trying to fit in, I’m just trying to fit me. Seeing as I’m smiling as I ride without even know it, I think I finally got it right. 

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What’s going on around The Kat Eye View of the World…

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A Postal Mystery

Here we have a row of one of my recent fascinations, newspaper boxes. Some empty and abandoned, others and in use. All in a neat row outside of our town’s post office. I loved the light coming along the wall, pointing to the row of these colorful boxes.

An appropriate photo to go along with the news of today’s postal mystery.  Let me set the stage…

The Liberate your Art postcard swap had just finished up, and I was contacted by my online friend Elizabeth, from Puerto Rico.

“Kat, I never received any postcards. Did you get mine?”

“I’ve sent out everything I received! I don’t remember if I got yours or not. If you didn’t get anything, I probably didn’t receive your cards. I’m so sorry!”

An unsatisfying ending. Until…

Yesterday. The postcards she sent to me in July for the swap arrived in the mail yesterday. Over two months after she had sent them.

So I have 5 cheerful postcards that Elizabeth liberated into the world two months ago, now looking for a home! I would like to get some postcards back to Elizabeth too, so if you would like to send Elizabeth one of your postcards, I will send you one of hers. You don’t have to have been a participant in the Liberate your Art postcard swap to do this. Email me kat [at] kateyestudio [dot] com with your interest and I will send you the details. The first five to respond are in!

One last participant. A postal mystery that will never be resolved. All I need is a few generous readers to help make Elizabeth’s swap happen! Can you help?

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What’s going on around The Kat Eye View of the World…

  • The current Exploring with a Camera theme is The Color Wheel: Part 1. Check out the post and join in the exploration.
  • Are you ready to find your own unique vision through photography? This is the last week to register for the fall series of the Find Your Eye e-course. Class starts Sunday, September 25! Visit here for more info.
  • You can subscribe to the Kat Eye News to stay up-to-date on all the happenings around here.

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